


between security and insecurity

by babyhanniez



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 01:33:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyhanniez/pseuds/babyhanniez
Summary: two roads, which will you choose?





	between security and insecurity

**Author's Note:**

> okay, so, i decided to write a lil something off of "yellow wood", "road not taken", and "side effects", along with mentions of theories from double knot!

Between security and insecurity.

Though you’re unsure of where the two diverged roads lead, you must make a decision and choose the path better suited to fit your needs. Curiosity is also a factor in choosing between the two; yet it may lead you astray from the intended goal, or better option, per say. In this world you’re given two options: taking the path everyone else has before you, following in their footsteps, or going the opposite direction which no one has dared to travel. Why? The answer is simple, fear has driven them away.  
Fear. What a funny little thing it is. It can control your every movement and may even be the cause of your demise, but it can also motivate you and cause you to strive for greatness because you want to overcome this ‘fear’. Though you may think you fall under neither of these categories, it simply means you have yet to discover the true meaning behind the word fear. This simple word is much more than that, it is a string of complex emotions causing you to react strongly to a particular thing - whether it be losing someone, being cast aside and forgotten, or something as small as clowns, you still feel your heart begin to race tremendously at the sound of its name.  
Now, back two the two paths. One of them is guaranteed security and peace of mind while the other is a raging hell of insecurity and uncertainty. The first is described to look as a ‘rundown paradise’, full of broken buildings from the many others who have traveled before, but it is completely safe - I assure you this much. The other, however, is the complete opposite; luscious gardens surrounding the nearly perfect architecture, never touched by a single human and yet still full of uncertainty. If you just so happen to choose the road not taken, you will have to live with your deepest, darkest fear until one day you either go completely insane from trying to avoid it, or you perish. Those are the only two options; you cannot outrun fear, it will catch up to you. On the other hand, if you choose the path traveled by those before you, you will find yourself unhappy but safe, adventureless because of the restraints of safety. Answer me this, which seems like a better option; safe yet miserable, or unsafe, surrounded by fear but happy. You can’t, at least not yet. You may think it’s a simple choice, but that is not the case. Choosing something without referring to all the given facts is not the best idea, rather, it’s a very unpleasant one if the outcome appears to be what causes your unhappiness.  
You’re curious to know more about the two roads, am I correct? There isn’t much to tell you besides choosing the wrong one would cause you to suffer, whether it be from fear or unhappiness, for the rest of your life. Still, with all this information presented, you must make a choice or else you cannot proceed further and will slowly fade from existence. The memories of you will be removed from everyone’s heads, stripping the “world” of any trace of you. Let me tell you a story about a group of men who were all given the choice of the two roads, just as you. This is the story of the ancient and sacred yellow wood which has since been cast away deep into the path of the road not taken.  
Nine men, that’s how many were in this group. Their names were Christopher Bang, Kim Woojin, Lee Minho, Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung, Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin, and the youngest, Yang Jeongin. Each and every one of them was given the same choice as you have now, but they were given it as a whole since they believed they all suffered the consequences together, no matter what. Though they knew what the consequences were, they still chose to travel along the road which has never been traveled before - until them, that is. These men, Stray Kids - as they called themselves, were the first ever to step foot on the soft, green grass that surrounded the area. Once they had passed the initial gates which greeted them at the entrance, a large yellow wood, standing about 20 feet high, loomed over the center of this newfound “paradise,” or so they called it, for the time being, that is.  
The warnings had seemed to leave their brains once they glanced around at the false sense of security and hope the promising landscape offered. And then the first leaf of the everliving yellow wood dropped, floating down slowly until it landed right at the heel of the leader’s foot, causing him to jump back in surprise and call the others over to examine the leaf. All nine men stared at the leaf in disbelief as they realized what it symbolized; this was only the beginning of a never ending chaotic reign, controlled by fear. Essentially, they had caused this; they were reckless and uncareful, angering the harmony which the yellow wood tried so hard to protect.  
This small leaf was the start of something much bigger than the nine of them had ever encountered and, if we’re being honest, it scared them severely. The unknown horrors which awaited them would soon reveal themselves; taking one member at a time as even the powers of fear are limited in some aspects. Soon, madness reigned over the small ‘safe haven’, infecting them all and rooting itself deep inside their minds. This madness isn’t a cause of the fear, rather, a side effect of downing pills to try and stop the terror. Not even the best prescription drug has the ability to stop fear; it may worsen it, however. Madness is by no means the only side effect they encountered, there were multiple and they include: insomnia, nausea, agitation, anxiety, vision problems, headaches, nervousness, sweating, psychosis and weight loss; all of which cause the user to go mad. Ingesting the supposed “helpful drug” caused them even more misfortune than had they gone through with the process without it.  
No one ever tells you how much sanity means until you’re on the brink of losing it, right? It’s not something ‘normal’ - though what is that defined by here? - people rarely mentioned loss of sanity or even small fits of sporadic chaos raging behind a neutral expression. Everyone experiences it, the little voices speaking in your ears and trying to convince yourself you aren’t going insane, when in reality you are. Sanity is one thing most people hold dear, like a small treasure only few possess and do terrible things to themselves - or others - when they’re on the verge of losing it. Each member of Stray Kids experienced this first hand, they know the horror and how it feels when you know you’re slowly losing your mind, slipping off into an insanity like state of bliss and unawareness. Pain begins to lose its meaning, nothing hurts you any more than the madness eating away at your brain. You can’t save your mentality, but you can try and escape before it gets to the point of violent actions to yourself or others.  
These men were unbeknownst of the side effects until after they had started to take effect, and believe me, they tried with astonishing determination to somewhat reverse, or at least slow down, the uncontrollable stirring in their veins. Their efforts worked at first, allowing three of the nine to slip out of their hypnotic state but left the other 6 trapped. Hyunjin, Minho, and Jeongin had all managed to get freed from the previous states of distress but now they were faced with the problem of leaving all the others behind or risking their own lives in hopes that they might save someone.  
The three now freed boys searched around the base of the yellow wood, inspecting the place where the first leaf had fallen for any signs of how to stop this strange misfortune. During their search, a violent turn occured. They had found nine keys scattered around the huge tree but touching them caused the others to scream in agony until Chris’s tormented figure stumbled over towards the three before lashing out, leaving scratches and bruises on them but not escaping without some himself. Chris had tried to prevent them from touching the keys once more, but failed as they were now sinking back underneath the leaves which had fallen off the yellow wood’s branches, never to be seen again. The four scrambled on their hands and knees, digging for the keys but only covering themselves in dirt and collapsing on the ground. Nine bodies stilled that day - never to move again as roots were wrapped around them, one by one, dragging them underneath the tree, the same way it had with the keys.  
It’s two years later now, and still no one has any idea what happened to the adventurers or the keys, but they do know one thing: you never take the road not taken, unless you want to go mad. I hope you learned something valuable from this story, now you must decide for yourself.


End file.
